La Palma: Flights off and residents ordered inside as volcano eruption rampages on

3 November 2021, 14:53

All flights to and from the island of La Palma have been cancelled and residents have been ordered to stay inside as the Cumbre Vieja volcano blankets the surrounding landscape in ash.

The eruption has left local air quality "extremely unfavourable" because of high levels of small particles, according to emergency services belonging to the Canary Islands government.

The heavy ash fall has also resulted in the cancellation of school classes.

Footage shared by on social media by the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute show the extent of the ash dispersion, with entire roads buried beneath a thick layer of it.

With flights cancelled, some tourists who came on a sightseeing trip to witness the eruption had to wait in long lines for ferries to leave the island on Wednesday.

Madrid resident, Patricia Privado, 30, described the erupting volcano as "a spectacle of nature".

"It is worth it," she said of her trip.

Read more: La Palma volcano partially collapses, spewing 'explosive bombs' of molten rock

"To hear it roar, to see how the lava falls.

"You have to experience it."

Leon Pena, 65, said he came from the nearby island of Fuerteventura to see what he called "something unique".

Both said they knew flight cancellations were a possibility, but they didn't let that deter them from traveling to La Palma.

They also saw their trips as a way of supporting the local economy by spending money on the island.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which is part of Spain's Canary Islands off northwest Africa, has been spewing lava, ash and gases for more than six weeks.

Read more: La Palma: Three more towns evacuated as volcanic activity intensifies

The eruption has alternately surged and ebbed since September 19.

Scientists have said it could last up to three months.

About 85,000 people live on La Palma.

Most of the island is unaffected by the eruption, but more than 7,000 people have been evacuated due to the threat posed by the lava rivers.

The molten rock has so far covered more than 2,463 acres of land and crushed or damaged more than 2,200 buildings.

The volcano's constant roar and numerous earthquakes have also kept locals on edge.

A magnitude 5 quake was felt in the island on Wednesday morning according to the National Geographical Institute.